Missing US congressman explains mysterious four-month absence
New Jersey Republican Tom Kean Jr, told fellow lawmakers that depression was the reason he had been away since March.

A crowd of reporters gathered outside the Capitol Hill office of Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) Tuesday morning, but the long-missing congressman has not yet shown.Kean last voted in the House on March 5. He has missed more than 140 votes since then.He has said only that he is dealing with a "personal medical issue." His office said he would return on Tuesday and finally explain his absence."No sign yet!" Charlie Cotton, a reporter, wrote on X just after 9:30 a.m., posting a photo of reporters and a camera crew camped outside Kean's office door."No sight of him yet," Mychael Schnell, a Capitol Hill reporter, wrote minutes later, noting Kean was "expected to address his absence today."A week ago, a New York Times reporter found Kean at his New Jersey home. He was dressed in a suit and tie."I'll talk to you next week," Kean said, and went inside.A person familiar with his plans told CNN that Kean intends to deliver a floor speech addressing his health. His spokesperson said he would be "fully transparent."He is also scheduled to attend a fundraiser on Tuesday evening.Kean represents one of the most competitive House districts in the country. He is running for a third term against Democrat Rebecca Bennett.House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has said he knows what is wrong with Kean but is keeping it private at Kean's request. "I do know what his health issue is, but he's asked me not to disclose that," Johnson said.As of Tuesday morning, Kean's office had not said when, or whether, he would appear.
New Jersey Republican Tom Kean Jr, told fellow lawmakers that depression was the reason he had been away since March.
New Jersey Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R) is expected to return to the Capitol on Tuesday after months of an unexplained absence. Kean’s staffers say he is going to give a floor speech in which he will explain his absence for more than 100 missed votes. His team tied his absence to an undisclosed medical condition. …
The New Jersey Republican was missing for months with no explanation for his constituents. He explained in a House floor speech that after his diagnosis, there was no timeline for recovery.
Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.) will return to the Capitol on Tuesday for House votes after months away due to an undisclosed medical condition. Kean, who was endorsed by President Trump in his reelection bid earlier this month, will address the speculation about his absence from the House floor. The remarks come just days before…
Speaker Mike Johnson was in the middle of a news conference when the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision on President Donald Trump's executive order eliminating the constitutional right to birthright citizenship. Johnson grumbled audibly and said he was “very disappointed” with the ruling, though he conceded it was a "textualist, originalist view" by the Court since it's plainly enshrined in the 14th Amendment. However, he said that it's time to amend the U.S. Constitution to end birthright citizenship because it has been "grossly abused in recent years.""We have, you know — it's become a tourism — birthing tourism, they call, you know, a trend where people will just come and you just come onto the soil and have your child and then they're able to avail themselves of the welfare state and everything else. It's been abused," said Johnson. A study by the Immigration Policy Institute using data from the U.S. Census showed that approximately 0.7 percent of births in the U.S. "could be attributed to birth tourism." They aren't certain whether or not they are, but that is the maximum amount it could be"And so I'm sure that we'll continue to look at that," Johnson continued. "I mean they I'm sure the conclusion from this opinion is going to be that you got to amend the Constitution to fix that. As we all know, it's a big challenge to amend the Constitution. It's only happened 27 times in our whole nation's history. And the reason is because you got to have two-thirds of the both chambers of Congress and three-fourths of the states to ratify. It's usually, you know, at least a many-year-long process and very complicated. Um we'll see."He closed by saying that "we'll have to deal with it as a Congress." Johnson has failed to pass much legislation since taking over as Speaker of the House. In 2025, the House set a record for the fewest votes and fewest bills passed in recent years, the New York Times reported. Republicans hold the majority in the House, Senate and White House.
A Monday memo from Graham Platner’s campaign shows the Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine is battling an onslaught of outside GOP spending. The memo, obtained by Politico, says Republicans spent $4.3 million on the race between Platner and incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) from last Tuesday through Monday. Collins’s campaign spent $500,000, while PACs…
Tom Kean Jr, a New Jersey Republican who has not cast a vote since March 5, has been spotted back on Capitol Hill.
The New Jersey congressman missed more than 140 votes since March 5 as those around him declined to give specifics about his medical issue.